The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, on Sunday revoked no fewer than 1,263 mineral licenses following defaults in the payment of annual service fees.
The revoked licenses comprise 584 exploration licenses, 65 mining leases, 144 quarry licenses, and 470 small-scale mining leases.

By opening up the areas formerly covered by these licenses, the revocation is expected to spur fresh applications by investors looking for new opportunities in the sector.
Approving the revocation following the recommendation of the MCO, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, said applying the law to keep speculators and unserious investors away from the mining sector would make way for diligent investors and grow the sector.
Alake noted that the affected titles will be deleted from the portal of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office’s (MCO) Electronic Mining Cadastral System.
The minister said: “The era of obtaining licences and keeping them in drawers for the highest bidder while financially capable and industrious businessmen are complaining of access to good sites is over.

“The annual service fee is the minimum evidence that you are interested in mining. You don’t have to wait for us to revoke the license because the law allows you to return the license if you change your mind.”
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, the minister warned that the revocation does not mean the Federal Government has pardoned the annual service debt owed by licensees.
He disclosed that the list of defaulters would be forwarded to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ensure recovery and enforcement.
He added, “This is to encourage due diligence and emphasise the consequences of inundating the license application processes with speculative activities.”

In the recommendation to the minister, the Director-General of the MCO, Engr. Simon Nkom, disclosed that there were 1,957 initial defaulters when the MCO published the intention to revoke licences in the Federal Government Gazette on June 19, 2025.
He informed the minister that the gazette was distributed to MCO offices nationwide to sensitise licensees and encourage them to comply within 30 days, in compliance with the Minerals and Mining Act 2007 and relevant regulations.
He observed that the delay in the final recommendation was due to complaints from several licensees who claimed to have paid the Federal Government through Remita and had to be reconciled.

The latest revocation brings the total mineral titles revoked under the current administration to 3,794, including 619 mineral titles revoked for defaulting in paying annual service fees and 912 for dormancy last year.
The move, according to the ministry, forms part of ongoing efforts to sanitize the sector since the inception of the Tinubu administration, and the salutary effects of the reforms are massive and manifest despite the attempts to push back by defaulters and their agents.